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Laws That Discriminate Against Sexual Orientation

Under normal circumstances, when a person is gay, he or she can hardly make use of any laws to protect them from being discriminated at their work place. However, of late, people''s view on sexual orientation is changing, and gays and lesbians are finding that employers are taking steps to ensure that no discrimination occurs on account of sexual orientation.

While at the federal level, there are no laws to protect a person against discrimination due to his or her sexual orientation, in the federal government, this kind of discrimination against federal employees is against the law. A private organization has to follow the laws against discrimination due to sexual orientation that are prevalent in the county, city or state of its operation. And, the private organization has to follow these laws even though there are no federal laws to protect a person from discrimination due to their sexual orientation.

In the US, there are 20 states plus the District of Columbia that have laws in place to stop any form of discrimination based on a person''s sexual orientation. These laws are applicable to private organizations. The 20 states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin. In addition, several counties and cities have their own laws in place to protect people from discrimination based on their sexual orientation.

Even if the state, city or county does not any anti-discrimination laws, an employer should have his own policies in place to ensure that no discrimination based on a person''s sexual orientation takes place. If this kind of discrimination occurs, the employee can sue the employer on different legal grounds like harassment, causing emotional distress, assault, battery and invasion of privacy.